


Under the Stars

by SolNiveAngelo (Mogadorian_Wolf)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: But He Gets Better, Character Death, M/M, Supportive! Nico, Supportive! Piper, valace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 08:12:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10782939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mogadorian_Wolf/pseuds/SolNiveAngelo
Summary: Will and Leo get together a little before Leo takes off on Argus II, leaving Will behind to defend the base.





	Under the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Nico could be crushing on Will or just supporting a friend, you can read it either way.

                It was entirely possible that they would get caught by the harpies, but that was really part of the fun. Plus it was hard to star gaze indoors, and Leo knew Jason was using his tower to stargaze with Piper. No way was he interfering with that. This was their first date, and Leo wasn’t sharing.

                He turned his head to stare at Will instead. His loose blond curls cascaded down his neck, and his bright blue eyes stared up at the sky, sparkling with wonder. Then he turned to meet Leo’s eyes and smiled. Leo wanted to kiss him. They’d been circling each other since Leo caught the flu a couple months ago and tried to work through it. Will had practically had to sit on him to make him rest. Leo had kind of wanted to kiss him in exasperation then too. The ship had needed to be built; they were on a schedule.

                “Have you really never been outside the camp since you arrived?” Leo asked softly.

                “Not on a quest like you or anything that could be fun. I mean I was out there for the big battle last year, but for the most part I stay here. Somebody needs to make sure you hero types don’t kill yourselves,” Will teased with a smile as he moved his head to lay on Leo’s shoulder. “But I wouldn’t mind you taking me out there for a date.”

                Leo laughed and pressed a kiss to Will’s temple. In a few weeks he’d be getting on Argo II and sailing to another camp, leaving Will behind. In truth he should’ve asked sooner- carpe diem and all- and he’d never had a problem asking girls that always turned him down either. Will was just different.

                “I’m’ going to take you up on that tomorrow. What are you going to do while I’m gone?” Leo asked softly, needing to know for late nights on Argo II or when he was staring up at the sky imagining it connected him to Will.

                Will rolled over and run gentle fingers over Leo’s other side as he whispered, “I’ll be holding the fort as always, ready in case the war comes to us, and waiting for you to come home. And you better come home, or I’ll hunt you down all the way to Tarturas if I have to.”

                Even though he knew Will was completely serious, Leo laughed and shifted to fully kiss his new boyfriend, slow and deep. When he pulled away, the world seemed so much more serious as he solemnly whispered back, “Don’t worry, mi amor. It won’t come to that, I promise. I’ll make it back.”

 

 

“I need to look at those plans for a moment,” Leo told Will with a gentle smile that he just adored. Will was sitting on top of the desk in Bunker 13, purposefully sitting halfway on the plans Leo was working with. It was really just a few final touches, but Will suspected Leo liked the opportunity of being so close as much as Will did.

Will smiled back at him and scooted over a little bit. Leo peered over the plans, fingers tapping as he hummed in thought. Will took the moment to study his boyfriend- they were really boyfriends; Will had to keep reminding himself that this was real, that this wasn’t a dream he’d wake up to find Leo gone, had died a long time ago because Will wasn’t there to heal him.

Leo’s curls were crazy and grease streaked. Will remembered hearing Jason describe Leo as looking like an elf, but Will always thought he looked more down to earth than that, more like he was part imp or something. Long fingers to work with the smaller parts of his machine and that had Will wondering if he could get Leo to play the piano (just the piano at first).

“Admiring your new boyfriend?” Leo’s mischievous smirk pulled Will back.

“Maybe I’m just waiting to see if you’re going to catch your clothes on fire like I’ve heard stories of, firebug,” Will shot back with his own teasing grin, heart fluttering. Leo would be leaving with Piper, Jason, and Annabeth tomorrow, while Will stayed back at base healing. He didn’t want to think about Leo not really having a doctor on board, didn’t want to think about how many demigods that lost in quests or in the last war, including one of Will’s own brothers. Leo had promised to come back to Will, and Will just had to believe that, had to hold on.

For a moment, Leo looked serious, like he was thinking about the same thing, but the expression quickly vanished to a confident smile as he turned around. His whole body lit up for a moment, flickering in golden flames like an aura. Will’s breath caught, and then the display was over, and Leo was standing there in nothing but his underwear and tool belt.

Leo flashed a smirk over his shoulder at Will. “I think you just wanted to see me without any clothes.”

Will leaned back on the table, taking in the view as Leo checked over his boat- his “other baby.” “Well, you are my boyfriend… but it’d be better in another situation.”

“We’ve been dating for a few weeks,” Leo whispered, looking a bit flustered to Will’s enjoyment. “That’s moving kind of fast, and I’ve never…”

“You’re going to be gone for a long while,” Will reminded him, a deep desperation welling up in him. Leo looked up with that same desperation that tinged on almost hopefulness, but they had to be optimistic, had to hold onto hope when the others were giving up and make them laugh and feel like they were still alive, still worth living. And Will surged the distance between them, ending up in Leo’s arms, desperately kissing. He had to come back. He had to. He’d promised.

Leo gave a startled laugh as Will pushed him against Argo II and starting kissing his neck. Above them Festus made a creaking noise that might’ve been a protest about Will taking Leo’s attention away from him. It reminded Will why they were in Bunker 13 in the first place, but he didn’t want to stop. Breathlessly, he pulled away from Leo’s neck and urgently whispered, “You are finished aren’t you?”

“Yeah. Well, for now. I’ll probably do more work on the way to our sister camp,” Leo reassured him, distractedly his hands lost in Will’s hair.

Will grinned up at him, relief surging through him, beating back the desperation to a dull thud. “Good.” And he went back to kissing Leo, whispering his name against his lips like a soothing chant. Leo stroke his hair, twirling it on his fingers as he kissed Will right back, forcing him to take a step back and another until he found himself being lowered on to the ramp. Leo pulled back and hovered over him, and Will felt more peaceful looking up at him than he had for a while.

“I wish you didn’t have to go.” He couldn’t ask him to stay or say he didn’t want him to leave. That would be selfish. And the camp still needed him, his cabin still needed him to help them get through another war, especially if they brought it back. The idea of fighting other demigods again sent a shudder through Will.

Leo sighed and came closer. “I know. But I promise I’ll come back to you.” And then they were kissing again, only Leo was pulling Will up and into his lap, right there on the ramp, sounding just as content. He pulled away and rested his forehead against Will’s. Will’s breath caught at the way Leo’s eyes shone. Somehow his hands had worked their way under Will’s shirt and were stroking his skin as Leo whispered. “I want you to stay in my bed tonight. The one on Argo II.”

Will laughed, burying his face against Leo’s neck as he undid Leo’s tool belt. “That sounds like an easy slip to becoming a stowaway, and I remember you seeming worried that we were going too fast earlier.”

Leo laughed back, his lips brushing Will’s jaw beneath his ear. “Well, you know what they say. I only got one speed. Why should this be any different with the guy that has my heart.”

Will felt the familiar heat of a blush at Leo’s gentle words filled with adoration. His heart thrummed with a brief pang as he remembered: “You know I can’t go with you, right Leo?”

Leo tugged the collar of Will’s shirt to kiss his shoulder. “I know sunbug.”

                “Well then, take me to your bed, firebug,” Will whispered with a smile pressed to his boyfriend’s neck.

 

 

                Leo held the vial of Physician’s Cure up to the moonlight. It might be his only chance. He promised he would come back to Will, and he was going to do everything in his power to keep that promise, but he couldn’t sacrifice the world to do it.

                He sighed and tucked the vial back in his pocket and stared up at the shining stars. Will was out there, healing others and preparing for the war they were bringing- the one with the Romans and the one Gaea was threatening. For a wonderful moment, Leo imagined the blonde healer staring up at the same sky half way across the world and thinking of him. He closed his eyes at the first prick of tears and quietly started singing “you are my sunshine.” In his mind Will was standing in front of him, gently touching Leo’s cheek with that serene expression he’d had in his afterglow on their last night together- but not their last last, because Leo _would_ see him again.

                _They’d been giggling like little kids high on candy and exhaustion, wrapped up in each other, completely unable to not be consistently touching as the early light of dawn crept through the window. Leo had built the window in his room even knowing he probably wouldn’t be spending much time in there. He wanted to see the sun in the few moments he was, to be reminded of Will._

_“Ooh, I’ve got one!” Leo cried out with a spark in his eyes as he twirled Will’s curls around his finger. They’d been flirting and singing songs to each other all through the night. Will was better at singing of course, but that didn’t stop Leo from launching into “you are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy…”_

_Somehow it ended up serious with Leo staring into Will’s eyes, and Will’s smile started slipping off until Leo was sincerely whispering the last lines with his hand gently resting on Will’s cheek. He wanted to kiss his boyfriend, keep him in bed and never let go. Will closed his eyes and leaned against Leo’s hand, brokenly whispering as tears worked their way down his cheeks, “I don’t want you to go.”_

_“I don’t want to go, either,” Leo confessed, kissing the tears before making his way to Will’s lips. His heart was breaking as Will kissed him back, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend, his lover, like he wasn’t going to let go. He pulled back, resting his forehead against Will’s, crying just as hard. “But I promise you, Will: I will make it to you. I promise, mi amor.”_

_Will opened his eyes and gave Leo a watery half smile. “I know, because I would hunt you down to the ends of the earth if I have to, I’d go all the way to Tartaurus if I had to just to bring you back.” He turned his head to the side to look up at the window behind Leo with a brighter smile. Leo was mesmerized by his boyfriend’s shining face as the golden light touched his face. Will caught his eye and laughed, bright and light. “It’s morning. We’ve stayed up all night. You are a very bad influence on me, Leo Valdez.”_

_Leo grinned, trailing his fingers down the side of Will’s face and his neck right to his shoulder. “Hey now. I think you needed to lighten up on your whole health tirade and live a little. I think I achieved that, didn’t I?”_

_He dropped a kiss on Will’s bare shoulder, and Will laughed, snuggling closer to Leo for a moment before, slowly getting out of the bed. Leo took his time admiring his naked boyfriend as Will slowly got dressed, and from the way Will had winked at him as he left, Leo knew the blonde knew what he’d been doing._

                Piper’s voice broke through the bitter sweet memory: “What are you doing out here, Leo?”

                “Thinking about my boyfriend,” Leo snapped bitterly. “Not all of us got to take our love on this trip, Beauty Queen. I mean, fuck, even Percy and Annabeth are together in Tartarus. You and Jason are together, Frank and Hazel have each other, and Will’s just hoping I’m okay, because he _can’t_ know.” And Leo was full out crying- upbeat, take-the-world-on-with-a-smile Leo was crying. Piper put her arms around him, rubbing his back soothingly.

                “It’s okay to miss him, Leo. It’s okay to cry, to be sad. You don’t have to try to be happy all the time to put on a mask for the rest of us. You and Will are the two most upbeat people I know, supportive of others, even if we don’t see it. You give us hope and keep us from just crumbling and giving up, because life is _so_ hard. And I was soo happy for you when you two got together because you both deserve it; you deserve the kind of happiness that came with it. And no matter how long or how far this journey takes us or even how rough it gets, I know you’ll find your way back together, because that’s the happy ending you deserve, more than any of us.”

                Leo let out a choked laugh that was still too close to crying. He pulled away, brushing away the tears. “That’s some pep talk, Pipes. You should write Hallmark cards. They could really use advice.”

                She punched him in the shoulder, but Leo could see she was fighting a smile.

 

 

 

                Will was in the middle of helping a stupidly suicidal son of Hades, when the war he’d been fearing really struck. His heart pounded as he realized that Leo was probably still on the other side of the world, that it was possible Leo would make it back, but that Will wouldn’t be here waiting for him. He had to push that away.

                Nico stood beside him as the monsters started surrounding them. His arm was at an awkward angle, Will abruptly noticed. They were surrounded by creatures that wanted them dead, and Will had the sudden impulse to heal the tiny little son of Hades. It was a soft golden glow settling in the air as Will sang under his breath that had Nico giving him a dark look.

                Before either of them could say anything, a ship flamed across the sky, and Will’s stomach dropped. He could see a little figure with someone hanging on making its way to the ground, a swooping dragon with someone on him. Will ran toward them, breaking through the lines like they were just hand holding chains. Leo. Leo. Please, let Leo be with them. Please.         

                He didn’t see Leo among them. He’d promise, that little mischievous elf had promise, and Will was going to drag him back from Tarturas if he had to, and he had a son of Hades that could help him now too. Jason turned to Will, his eyes widening as he stormed toward the blonde son of Jupiter. Will wasn’t a violent person, but he really wanted to shove Jason against a hard surface.

                “Where’s Leo?!”

                “He was on the ship. Said he had a plan,” Jason whispered, sounding horrified, and Will cursed Leo, his firebug, his little imp, inside his head. His chest tightened, and he tried to hold back the sudden tears and building lumps. After everything Will had done to keep Leo healthy, and he was needlessly risking his life. Then the earth woke up.

                Will’s heart stuttered. He might end up joining his firebug in the Underworld sooner than he expected. Just as he prepared for that fate, Festus came roaring overhead, sweeping Gaea up with him. A little curly haired figure sat on top of him. Leo. The very sun lit up in Will as he grinned at his boyfriend, laughter bubbling up out of him despite the war going on around them. That was his boyfriend, his amazing boyfriend coming to their rescue.

                Nico grabbed him, pulling him through the disorganized fighting as two shapes zoomed up to meet his Leo. Jason and Piper. He silently cheered them on as he watched the battle unfold. Nico slipped from his fingers, and Will snapped his attention down to earth as Nico screamed, “Will! Come on!”

                Will ran after him, grabbing Nico’s offered hand. Leo was here, but that wasn’t an excuse to not watch out for himself on the ground. Leo would be just as devastated if Will didn’t hold out for him, if he didn’t do everything he could to ensure he’d still be here for his little firebug.

                He watched as Octavian shot himself into the sky. He watched as the screaming fireball shot toward his boyfriend. He watched as Jason and Piper retreated, as Leo disintegrated in the fire that had always been his element. And in that moment his heart broke as the words of the prophecy swept over him. _An oath to be kept with the final breath._ Leo kept his promise to come back, but he didn’t live much past that. And on that battle field with the dying chaos around him, Will sunk to his knees and broke, a loud wail coming from his mouth.

 

3 months later…

 

Will felt like one of Leo’s automatons, or he supposed it would be Hephastus’s automatons, because he wasn’t sure Leo had actually made any. Nico had crushed any hope that Leo, that firebug, might’ve survived, somehow someway; he’d told Will he felt him die, and who would know better than a son of Hades. So Will had locked himself in a room, because he didn’t know how to go to the Underworld and pull Leo back. After two days, Nico had banged down his door with Piper’s help. And after that, for some reason, the young son of Hades hung around him, trying to be comforting in his own way, and ignoring the odd looks he got.

Nico was nice, sweet even, but he wasn’t Leo with his bright smiles and constant jokes to fight the dark and always that smudge of grease somewhere on him. The automaton shell broke at that, and the jar Will had been carrying to the medic bay fell from his hand as the tears started back up. Nico was there in a heartbeat, wrapping an arm around Will’s trembling shoulders. His other hand grabbed Will’s shaking hands as he slowly drew Will to his chest, and like all the times before Will let him.

He cried against the son of Hades chest while he rubbed his back. For some reason Nico didn’t have the same reservations about touching Will that he did for everyone else. His other hand buried itself into Will’s hair as he soothingly whispered, “I’m getting permission from Chiron to go find him.”

“Find who?”

Will’s heart stopped, and he pulled away from Nico, staring in stunned surprise as a familiar figure sauntering down the hill toward them with a mischievous grin. Nico seemed just as frozen as he was, but Will managed to break it first as he softly breathed out, “Leo.”

And then he was running toward his boyfriend with a pounding heart. Nico had been wrong, somehow, because Leo was standing right there. He launched himself into the Hispanic’s arms, feeling how real he was, and Leo _laughed._ It was absurd and amazing, and when Leo put his arms around him, Will wasn’t crying in unbearable grief for once.

“I told you I’d come back, baby,” Leo whispered in his ear, squeezing Will so hard that for a moment Will thought his ribs were crushed, but it was a wonderful feeling because it meant Leo was really there, holding him. Then Leo took a step back and spoke louder with that beautiful grin of his that had Will’s heart speeding up. “It took longer than I expected to make it back, had to crawl back from death and rescue her.”

Over his shoulder, Leo gestured to Festus who was walking toward them, shoulder to shoulder with another metallic dragon- a silver one. Leo had went out and got Festus a girlfriend, and for the first time in so long, he laughed in bewildered joy and threw his arms around Leo’s neck to pull him into a sound kiss.

“I love you. I love you,” He whispered breathlessly against Leo’s mouth, unable to pull far away before going back.

Leo smirked against him. “I know. I’m just that amazing, aren’t I?”

Their tongues tangled as Will tried to hold back the laugh, wanting to keep the kiss going so bad. Leo moaned against him and pressed the words against Will’s mouth, “I missed you so much.” And Will could taste the tears on his lips as well as his hands slid up Will’s back.

Behind them, Nico made a choking noise. “Could you guys keep your clothes on?”

Leo pulled away and winked at him. “Not for long.”


End file.
